“I opened my doors in 2020, during COVID,” he said. “It kind of just was a catalyst for me to decide that I was going to be my own boss and open my own doors.”

On most weekends, you can find Drew Katchmar standing behind a booth lined with cutting boards, cocktail smokers and hand-turned pepper mills, talking with customers about hardwoods.

He will tell you why end-grain boards hold up better under a knife. He will explain the difference between walnut and padauk. He might point out that some of the tools in his shop are more than a century old, passed down from his grandfather.

What he does not always say right away is that before the woodshop, there was Iraq.

Katchmar served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 2003 to 2007. He deployed with the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit, traveling outside the wire to bring supplies to Marines in forward areas. Later, he became a weapons instructor, teaching combat marksmanship.

Like many veterans, he left the military and had to figure out what came next.

He worked in law enforcement in Chicago. He later moved into the private sector. On the surface, it was steady work. But something did not sit right.

“Even though I was working with other veterans, it became clear priorities in the corporate sector didn’t line up with mine,” he said. “That’s when I knew I was in the wrong place.”

Woodworking had started almost by accident. After leaving the Marines, a neighbor in California offered to teach him the craft. Years later, while working in law enforcement, it became a way to relieve stress.

“I actually started woodworking to relieve stress,” he said. “After I left law enforcement, and after I left the private sector, I opened my own doors, and here I sit.”

In 2020, in the middle of the uncertainty of COVID, Katchmar made the leap.

“I opened my doors in 2020, during COVID,” he said. “It kind of just was a catalyst for me to decide that I was going to be my own boss and open my own doors.”

He founded DK Custom Woodwork in Bolingbrook. What began in a garage has grown into a full-time business. He and his wife now attend farmers markets, craft fairs and brewery shows across the region. Inside his booth, the display is carefully arranged: cocktail smoker kits, pizza peels, lazy Susans, whiskey and cigar accessories, and his most popular item, end-grain cutting boards.

“When you walk into my booth, there’s cocktail smokers … end-grain cutting boards and lazy Susans and pizza peels,” he said. “I kind of am what they call a multi-faceted worker. I do everything.”

Over time, the business has become more focused.

“Over the last six years, we’ve kind of honed our product line to what sells,” he said.

Katchmar approaches his work with both creativity and discipline. He holds a degree in marketing management and tracks sales data to understand what customers respond to and when. His wife handles photography and social media, giving the business a polished, seasonal look.

But for him, the appeal of entrepreneurship runs deeper than strategy.

In the corporate world, extra effort felt disconnected. In his own shop, the results are tangible. The hours he puts in translate directly into stability for his family.

There is also something familiar in the independence. In the Marines, initiative mattered. In business, it still does. The stakes are different, but the responsibility feels the same.

Katchmar stays closely connected to the veteran community. Through those relationships, he supports and promotes other veteran-owned businesses whenever he can. He donates his work to veteran-focused events and looks for opportunities to help fellow veterans gain exposure.

For him, entrepreneurship is not just a career change. It is a continuation of ownership of his time, his work, and his future.

Organizations like Veteran Business Project aim to help more veterans take that step into business ownership, providing guidance and community along the way.

Katchmar’s shop may be filled with hardwoods and hand tools, but the through line is service: first to his country, now to his family, and often to fellow veterans trying to build something of their own.

Visit the DK Custom Woodwork resource directory page for contact information.